Noor Al Shaikh Publishes Her First Research Paper and Gets Regional Recognition

Graduated from LAU MEPI TL in 2017 with a Bachelor of Business Management, and a minor in Psychology, Noor Al Shaikh from Bahrain showed a growing interest in Social Sciences in general, focusing on GCC region. She always wanted to participate in think tanks performing research and advocacy concerning GCC’s different topics: social policy, political strategy, economics, culture, etc…

Al Shaikh’s interest did not remain passive. Right after her graduation in 2017, she started networking with different think tanks. At first, she didn’t get any feedback from most of them but this didn’t demotivate her. She didn’t cut ties with them until she got an email from Gulf Centre for Development Policies and was offered the opportunity to write a report on Kuwait that will be published in their annual GCC report.

Al-Shaikh accepted the challenge confidently, knowing that it was an opportunity to learn and connect to people in the field. The time constraint was causing some distress, yet Al Shaikh’s perseverance of presenting high quality and a well-written paper pushed her to spend sleepless nights researching, writing, and editing.  With the editorial team’s guidance, she respected the paper’s submission deadline.  

The report was published in July 2019 in print and in electronic version and on the Center’s website. Al Shaikh’s report gained wide acceptance from the readers who were impressed by her high level of professionalism.

“This publication was the first stepping stone, and many more are yet to come! » says Al Shaikh, who attributes her leadership abilities, communication and analytical skills to her time in the MEPI Student Leaders Program.